Ford RS200
A road-legal two-seater built so Ford could homologate a purpose-made four-wheel-drive rally machine.
1986 Britain Ford RS200 road car · Stephen Foskett (sfoskett) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Research pending
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More than a set of wheels.
After abandoning its rear-drive RS1700T project, Ford started again with a clean sheet for Group B. The RS200 put its engine behind the seats and its gearbox at the front to balance mass, while a complex driveline connected both axles. Ford said only 200 would be built to satisfy the rules. FIA homologation number 280 took effect on February 2, 1986; Group B was then banned from rallying later that year, leaving the road car as a short-lived piece of motorsport engineering.
Look a little closer.
Ford borrowed ordinary Sierra parts—including the windscreen and doors—for a car whose body otherwise used honeycomb and carbon, aramid and glass fibres.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
The long driveline was also a balance tool
The gearbox lived in front of the driver even though the engine sat behind the cabin. Ford used that unusual arrangement to target 50/50 weight distribution. In four-wheel-drive mode the brochure describes a rear-biased 37:63 torque split, with viscous limited-slip differentials helping manage wheelspin.
Source: Ford Motor Company · RS200 sales brochure, February 1986 ↗Road car, rally car and Evolution are three different scopes
The standard brochure engine is 1,804 cc and 250 PS. Ford lists about 420 PS for competition use, while FIA records a later Evolution homologated with 2.1 litres after Group B's rally ban. This profile does not borrow the spectacular outputs or displacement of those competition developments for the customer road car.
Source: FIA Historic Database · Ford RS 200 ↗Where these facts come from
- Ford Motor Company · RS200 sales brochure, February 1986
- FIA Historic Database · Ford RS 200
- FIA Historic Database · RS200 homologation 280 record
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed 2026-10-02.